Please note, our Document Verification Service has been temporarily suspended due to additional measures UNSW has adopted in relation to COVID-19. For more information, please contact The Nucleus: Student Hub
Certification of Documents
UNSW Sydney does not require documents to be formally certified in support of coursework applications for admission and enrolment in most cases. Only applicants from non-211/985 universities in the Peoples Republic of China must provide certified copies of original documents. To find out if your institution is a Project 985 or 211 university, see “Certification guidelines for China non-211/985 applicants” below.
Please do not send your original documents to us, as UNSW retains the documents that are submitted and they will not be returned to you. However, you must be prepared to present your original documents to UNSW for inspection post-enrolment if requested, so you will need to bring your original documents with you to Australia.
UNSW will verify documents via back-to-source checks with applicants’ home institutions. Where we are unable to verify documents with your home institution, applicants will be required to bring their originals to the UNSW Admissions Office for verification.
If any fraudulent documents are discovered, action may be taken which can result in the withdrawal of an offer or the termination of an enrolment. The University does not tolerate fraudulent documents and we retain the right to withhold your graduation or cancel your testamur if fraud is discovered during or after your studies at UNSW.
Certification guidelines for China (non-211 and non-985 applicants)
Who must have documents formally certified?
Applicants from Project 985 or Project 211 universities in China do not have to have documents formally certified. All other applicants from the Peoples Republic of China must have their documents certified.
What is a certified copy of an original document?
A correctly certified copy is an unaltered photocopy of an original document that has been sighted and certified to be a true copy of the original by a person authorised to do so.
Who can certify copies of my documents?
Your documents can be certified by a person belonging to one of the categories below.
The person who certifies your document/s must be contactable by telephone during normal working hours. You, or a person directly related to you, cannot certify your documents, even if you/they belong to one of the categories listed below.
Documents certified OVERSEAS (not including New Zealand)
An authorised officer at:
- UNSW offshore offices
- UNSW Hong Kong Office
- UNSW India Office
- UNSW Indonesia Office
- UNSW North America Office
- UNSW Vietnam Office
- UNSW Representative Officers in China
- UNSW/IDP Beijing
- UNSW/IDP Shanghai
- UNSW/IDP Guangzhou
- UNSW/EIC Beijing
- UNSW representatives from the Faculties, International Office, Admissions and Recruitment
- the official records department of the institution that originally issued the document/s. The authorised officer must be a representative of the Registrar or Academic Affairs Officer or equivalent.
- an official UNSW Offshore Representative (Agent)
- an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate
- Austrade
- [China] a Notary Public (Gong Zheng)
Documents certified in AUSTRALIA or NEW ZEALAND
An authorised officer at:
- the official records department of the institution that originally issued the document/s. The authorised officer must be a representative of the Registrar or Academic Affairs Officer or equivalent
- an authorised international recruitment agent of UNSW
A Justice of the Peace currently registered in Australia.
To find a Justice of the Peace in New South Wales, Australia, you can search the public register of Justices of the Peace, available online from the NSW Attorney-General's Department here.
Anyone who is currently employed in Australia or New Zealand as:
- an accountant who is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia or New Zealand, CPA Australia, the National Institute of Accountants or the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants
- a barrister or solicitor
- a manager of an Australia Post Office
- a medical practitioner
- a pharmacist
- a police officer
- a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of a Court
- a commissioned officer in the Defence Force
How do I get my documents certified?
To have your documents certified you will need to provide both the original hard copy document and the copy, to the person certifying the document.
The person certifying will:
- inspect the original and copy to satisfy themselves that they are identical;
- on each and every page of the document:
- write 'I certify this to be a true copy of the original document shown and reported to me as an original’;
- sign the document;
- write:
- their name in full
- their address;
- their contact telephone number;
- their capacity to certify documents (eg. their title and which institution they belong to, their profession or occupation. A Justice of the Peace should print his/her registration number and the state/territory in which they are registered); and
- the date of certification.
In what form will UNSW accept certified copies?
UNSW will only accept the actual document that has been sighted and certified to be the true copy of the original document by an authorised person.
UNSW will NOT accept documents:
- that have not been certified in accordance with this policy
- that are photocopies and have not been certified
- that are photocopies of the certified copy of the document (the document submitted must have the original signature of the authorised person)
- That are not in English (see Translation of documents)
- certified by a Justice of the Peace without a registration number
Certified documents can be submitted in hard copy by mail or in person at The Nucleus: Student Hub.
Faxed, emailed or scanned copies of certified documents will only be accepted if faxed or emailed directly from the administration office of the institution that issued the document or from an authorised agent of UNSW.
Document Certification at The Nucleus: Student Hub
A document certification service is available at The Nucleus: Student Hub. To have your documents certified at The Nucleus: Student Hub you will need to bring with you all original documents and any copies that you would like to have certified. Photocopying facilities are available in The Nucleus: Student Hub foyer.
If you require more than 5 copies to be certified, please contact The Nucleus: Student Hub to make an appointment.
Translation of Documents
If your official documents are not in English, you must supply copies of the following documents:
- the original language document
- a complete English translation of the original language document
Your documents must be translated by one of the following:
- Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural New South Wales, call 1300 651 500 (Tollfree) or visit multicultural.nsw.gov.au
- a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). The translator must be accredited as at least a 'professional translator'. Translated documents must display the official NAATI stamp provided to qualified translators; the stamp shows the level of accreditation and the direction in which they are accredited to translate. A list of NAATI-accredited translators in Australia and some overseas locations is available at www.naati.com.au or call (02) 9267 1357
- an interstate office of the Community Relations Commission
- the issuing institution where study was undertaken
- an Australian diplomatic mission
- a sworn translator approved by the Australian diplomatic missions in Belgium, France, Indonesia, Switzerland or Thailand, Brazil, Germany, Peru, Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City)
- the Ministry/Department of Foreign Affairs or a local court or government agency that offers a translation service in the applicant's home country. For example, the Federal Public Justice in Belgium
- the Notary Public Office, which issues bound booklets in both Chinese and English for Chinese degrees
- any certified translator in Vietnam may also translate but the translation must be notarised by a District Justice Office anywhere in the country and stamped with their Phòng Tư pháp seal.
Each translation must be accompanied by a statement which states “The translated text in this document is an accurate and complete translation of the original document” and should then also contain the translator’s signature, printed name, membership of the relevant accredited translation body (and membership number if applicable) and the date the statement is made.
Translated documents from Chinese non-211 institutions
Certified copies of BOTH the original document and the translated document must be submitted to the University after the translation is completed and signed by the translator. For information on the certification of documents, please see “Certification guidelines for China non-211/985 applicants” above.
Applicants must also provide original or certified copies of transcripts in both Chinese and English, and these must be the certified bound booklets issued by a Notary Public Office in both Chinese and English. UNSW will make full offers with conditions to eligible applicants who do not provide a notarised document with their application, but a notarised document must be submitted to the University prior to the Census Date of the Commencing Term or the enrolment will be cancelled.
Further Information
Contact: UNSW Admissions Office
Tel: +61 (2) 9385 3656 (multiple lines)